RCR’s Austin Dillon breaks down early exit at Sonoma: “It’s hard”

Austin Dillon found himself in a wreck during Stage 2 of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 yesterday (June 9) at Sonoma Raceway in California. The crash caught several other drivers including Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, William Byron and Josh Berry, causing multi-car mayhem on lap 35 of the 110-lap event.

Austin Dillon currently drives the number 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing. He has four wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, including those at the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. He has made it to the playoffs five times. Dillon was the NASCAR Xfinity Series champion in 2013 and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion in 2011.

After his early exit at Sonoma, Austin Dillon revealed what started the commotion as he recalled the moment speaking to Frontstretch.

"I was side by side with the 99 and then the 23 got him outside... we raced all throughout the 'S' side by side... and then the 60. I think he got me into Bubba (Wallace) through turn 10 so then we were three-wide going into turn 11. The 4 (Josh Berry) and the 43 (Erik Jones), I mean, I don't know what that is."

The start of each stage is crucial because every driver goes all out to move up the grid and gain positions. Dillon reflected on the difficulty of running the first couple of laps.

"I think there's a lot of grip out there and it turns into a wreck-fest with these cars. You just drive until you can't do anything. The first couple of laps, we're just bumper cars. It's hard."

The 34-year-old was also asked what damaged his car.

"We broke the suspension in the right rear when we took the hit in turn 11."

Austin Dillon suffered his first DNF of the season on Sunday. As of today, the RCR driver is 31st on the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 211 points to his name. In his 16 starts so far, he has achieved a pair of top 10s.

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Austin Dillon claims strategic supremacy in light of Martin Truex Jr.'s woes

Austin Dillon, who finished 36th, felt that he was in a good position strategy-wise. In a race where reigning regular-season champion Martin Truex Jr. ran out of fuel, Dillon told NBC Sports that his #3 team could have lasted through the race alongside the leaders on fuel.

"We had a solid strategy playing out in Stage 2 and we may have been able to outlast the leaders on fuel. We planned to run to the end, come to pit road, take tires and fuel, and restart the final stage inside the top 10. We didn’t get a chance to show what we were capable of."

Here is a video of the crash that ruined Austin Dillon's day [6:56].

Dillon's team towed the car back to the garage and tried to fix it, but unfortunately, it was beyond repair.

"Our team did a great job on pit road trying to repair it, but the damage was too severe, and we had to take it to the garage."

Austin Dillon has made 10 attempts at Sonoma, among which his best performance is a P11 finish in 2022. He looks forward to winning his first race of the season and fifth of his Cup career. His next race is at IOWA Speedway on June 16.